Dynamic Responses of Shallow-Buried Flexible Plates Subjected to Impact Loading

The dynamic soil-structure interaction phenomenon involved in a shallow-buried flexible plate under impact loading is investigated both experimentally and numerically. This interaction causes load relief on the buried structure. Plexiglass plates were used as the buried flexible roof structure and low-velocity impact loadings were generated on the soil surface. Measurements of the interaction loads between the sand and the plate, and the accelerations of the buried plates were conducted. A decoupled single-degree-of-freedom model was used to simulate the dynamic responses of the buried flexible plates. The numerical model allows separation between soil medium and the buried structure. Different degrees of load-relief phenomenon are experimentally and numerically observed for the buried plates of three different stiffnesses. The numerical calculation shows good agreement with the experimental results. The results show that the stiffer plates experienced less separation from soil, which was observed in terms of higher loading magnitudes and longer loading durations. The same separation phenomenon was also observed in terms of lower displacement mag-nitudes and shorter durations.